Late-Race Crash Slows Stewart, Ends Shot at Elusive Talladega Victory
True Speed Communication For Joe Gibbs Racing, Press Release
Date: Oct. 8, 2006
Event: UAW-Ford 500 (Round 30 of 36)
Series: NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series
Location: Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway (2.66-mile oval)
Start/Finish: 13th/22nd (Running, completed 188 of 188 laps)
Winner: Brian Vickers of Hendrick Motorsports
Tony Stewart finished 22nd in Sunday's NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.
It could have been a lot better had it not been for a chain-reaction crash on lap 173 that sent Stewart's No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet into the turn two wall, damaging both ends of his Joe Gibbs Racing-prepared Chevy.
Stewart, running 16th and running the high line, was caught in the accident when teammate J.J. Yeley was hit from behind by rookie David Stremme. The contact sent both Yeley and Stremme into the wall, and with Stewart right behind Stremme, Stewart had no place to go. Stewart ran into the back of Stremme and then pinched his car down low to get away from the crash, but spun into the path of Paul Menard, who hit Stewart square in the rear bumper.
The damage was severe enough to necessitate three straight pit stops for repairs. At that point, it became a matter of getting whatever positions the team could earn over the final 15 laps.
Stewart battled bravely, racing away from the lead pack on the way to the finish - something that turned out to be a good thing.
On the final lap just before turn three, Brian Vickers collided with his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson while racing for the lead. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was leading Johnson at the end of the backstretch when Vickers - who was running in third - tapped Johnson's car in the right rear corner as he and Johnson attempted to pass Earnhardt. The contact sent Johnson's car into Earnhardt's and both slid into the infield in turn three. Vickers drove to victory, while Earnhardt finished 23rd and Johnson finished 24th.
As Earnhardt and Johnson created a cloud of dust as they spun through the infield, Stewart had plenty of time to get slowed up before reaching the scene without worry that another car would crash into him. And with the yellow caution flag waving, the field was frozen, preserving Stewart's 22nd-place standing.
In the run-up to the crash that knocked him from contention, Stewart played the usual cat-and-mouse game with the 43-car field. Starting 13th, he quickly dropped a number of positions and just rode near the back, staying out of trouble and working on the handling of his Home Depot Chevrolet.
When the time was right and the situation presented itself, Stewart went to the front, leading lap 36 and getting the five bonus points that came with it.
Stewart dodged another bullet on lap 137 when a nine-car crash scrambled the field in turn one. Stewart took a shot to the rear of the car as well as the front, but the damage was only cosmetic, and he maintained his track position.
Playing a fuel strategy, Stewart topped off his gas tank several times during the final stages, the last coming on lap 151, and he was ready to rock to the end. He rejoined the field on lap 151 in 17th, and his drive to the front was on.
In just two laps, Stewart climbed all the way to seventh, and was third the next time by. On lap 157, he was battling for the lead, and had it for three-quarters of a lap, only to lose it at the start/finish line.
Running the low line, Stewart found himself all alone on lap 159 and fell back to 16th, where he ran until the crash on lap 173.
Stewart's Joe Gibbs Racing teammates - Denny Hamlin and J.J. Yeley - finished 21st and 32nd, respectively.
Hamlin continues to lead the trio of Joe Gibbs Racing drivers in the championship point standings, as he is the lone Gibbs representative in the Chase for the Championship. Hamlin dropped three spots to fall to fifth in points, 51 markers behind series leader Jeff Burton.
Yeley fell from 28th to 29th in points and is 203 points outside the top-25.
Stewart maintained his 11th-place point standing and has a healthy 236-point lead over 12th-place Carl Edwards.
Vickers scored his first career Nextel Cup victory by winning the UAW-Ford 500. Kasey Kahne finished second, while Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth and rookie Martin Truex Jr. secured the rest of the top-five. Kevin Harvick, Jeff Green, Mark Martin, Edwards and Bobby Labonte comprised the rest of the top-10.
The next event on the Nextel Cup schedule - the fifth race of the final 10-race Chase for the Championship - is the Oct. 14 Bank of America 500 at Charlotte (N.C.). The race begins at 7:10 p.m. EDT with live, high-definition coverage provided by NBC.
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OK, here is a happier Tony article for y'all. This is for the Stewart Sweeties here, and I hope that the other Tony Stewart fans will enjoy it too!!!
Chase This!
Stewart Out-fuels Field at Kansas to Win Banquet 400
True Speed Communication For Joe Gibbs Racing, Press Release
Date: Oct. 1, 2006
Event: Banquet 400 (Round 29 of 36)
Series: NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series
Location: Kansas Speedway in Kansas City (1.5-mile oval)
Start/Finish: 21st/1st (Running, completed 267 of 267 laps)
With little to lose and everything to gain in Sunday's Banquet 400 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway, Tony Stewart and The Home Depot Racing Team gambled that their No. 20 Chevrolet Monte Carlo had enough fuel to make the final 71 laps around the 1.5-mile oval.
Their gambled paid off, but just barely. Stewart led the final five laps of the 267-lap race and coasted across the finish line with an empty tank to score his 27th career Nextel Cup victory and his third this season.
"When we were coming down the backstretch, I asked how many laps we had left and they said, 'You're coming to the white (flag),'" said Stewart, who came from 21st in the 43-car field, the farthest back a race winner has started at Kansas. "It started losing pressure when we went into turn one. Then it caught up for a second, but as soon as we came off turn two, it lost pressure immediately. I kicked it out of gear right away and just got down low on the race track to take the shortest distance around. We just coasted around and hoped we had enough of a lead to stay out front."
Stewart did, beating Casey Mears to the finish line by 12.422 seconds.
The margin of victory, while large, was still a nail-biter. As Stewart coasted, Mears had a full head of steam. But Stewart's lead was so large - thanks to staying on the race track and not pitting like everyone else - that he was still able to stay ahead of Mears, whose second-place finish tied his career best effort in Nextel Cup.
Out of the Chase for the Championship for the first time in Stewart's eight-year Nextel Cup career, points are disposable for the first time in his career. Eleventh is the best point finish Stewart can earn, and with a 270-point lead over 12th-place Greg Biffle, it's win or bust for the two-time and reigning series champion.
"We had nothing to lose today," said Stewart. "Not being in the Chase gave us that opportunity to go ahead and run for it. We were able to take a chance that we wouldn't have been able to if we were running for the championship.
"We had a top-five car at the end of the day, no doubt about it. But today was our day. We were in a situation where Jimmie (Johnson) had the fastest car and checked out, but they had to play the fuel mileage game and they couldn't take a chance. That played into our hands for a change.
"This isn't the first time a race has been won on fuel mileage. We were just in a position where we were able to take that chance, and if it didn't work out, then it didn't work out."
"The pressure is off of us," added crew chief Greg Zipadelli. "We kind of have the attitude to do whatever we can to win. We did what we had to do today. I am really proud of this team. We had a top-three or four car all day. The No. 48 car (Johnson) was definitely the class of the field there at the end, but we gambled, and for once it paid off for us. We probably cut it a little close, but it still worked out for us. I'm going to celebrate with my boys."
Zipadelli's "boys" were the pit crew. The orange-and-black attack from Joe Gibbs Racing performed flawlessly, delivering quick stops throughout the 3-hour and 17-minute race.
"This was the best day for pit stops all year, so I think that's huge for our team," said Stewart. "The other thing is that Bob Nardelli, our CEO of The Home Depot, has not missed a race since the Chase started. Even though we're not in the Chase, he's been to all three races. It just shows how dedicated he is to this program and how supportive he is. We've had a lot of awesome e-mails from the associates at The Home Depot supporting us even though we missed being in the Chase. So I think having him here today and the last three weeks has really meant a lot to our team. The guys showed it today by having awesome pit stops and giving me a great race car."
Stewart's victory placed him 20th on NASCAR's all-time win list, tying him with Rex White. It was also the 52nd Nextel Cup win for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Stewart's Joe Gibbs Racing teammates - Denny Hamlin and J.J. Yeley - finished 18th and 41st, respectively.
Hamlin continues to lead the trio of Joe Gibbs Racing drivers in the championship point standings, as he is the lone Gibbs representative in the Chase for the Championship. Hamlin gained two spots to climb to second in points, 69 markers behind series leader Jeff Burton.
Yeley held steady at 28th in points, but now sits 136 points outside the top-25.
Rounding out the top-five behind Stewart and Mears were Mark Martin, Dale Jarrett and Burton. Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Brian Vickers, Clint Bowyer and Dale Earnhardt Jr., comprised the rest of the top-10.
The next event on the Nextel Cup schedule - the fourth race of the final 10-race Chase for the Championship - is the Oct. 8 UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. The race begins at 2:30 p.m. EDT with live, high-definition coverage provided by TNT.
This Press Release and any images that are used,
are used with permission. Do not duplicate or
redistribute in any form without permission or credit.
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Home Depot Racing Team Overcomes Tight Race Car and Comes From 31st to Finish 13th
True Speed Communication For Joe Gibbs Racing, Press Release
Date: Oct. 14, 2006
Event: Bank of America 500 (Round 31 of 36)
Series: NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series
Location: Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
Start/Finish: 31st/13th (Running, completed 333 of 334 laps)
Winner: Kasey Kahne of Evernham Motorsports
Tony Stewart struggled with the handling of his No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet in practice and in qualifying for the Bank of America 500 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race at Charlotte (N.C.). But when the 334-lap race on the 1.5-mile oval concluded late Saturday night, Stewart had picked up 18 positions to log a respectable 13th-place finish after starting a distant 31st.
"All the credit goes to Greg," said Stewart, giving props to his crew chief, Greg Zipadelli. "I've been struggling here all weekend. I think part of it was because the last two times I left this track I left in an ambulance."
Stewart endured hard crashes in three straight races when the series visited Charlotte in May. Of the 690 total laps available for the All-Star race, the NASCAR Busch Series race and the Nextel race, Stewart completed only 114 of them. His crashes on consecutive days in the Busch Series race and in the Nextel Cup race sent Stewart to the hospital both times, the latter of which revealed a non-displaced fracture at the tip of his right scapula.
"With this tire combination, I just cannot get comfortable in practice, and then when it comes to the race, he (Zipadelli) has to get me so tight to where I'm comfortable driving the car that we're plowing the fence down," said Stewart of his car's handling characteristics. "But as the night went on, he made the car adjustable enough to where during parts of the race we ran some really good lap times.
"It was my fault that we were so slow the first half of the race. Everybody had to carry me for the first half. I give all the credit to Zippy for being able to make enough adjustments. And I think he knew that as the night went on we'd have to start freeing up the car. I give him the credit for making the car adjustable enough to get us where we needed to be."
The 13th-place finish was a worthy one considering that only 11 drivers in the 43-car field finished the race on the lead lap. Stewart and 12th-place Casey Mears were the only drivers one lap down. Every other driver was at least two or more laps off the pace set by the leaders.
"We worked hard tonight. The small fuel cells - as much as I dislike them - helped us because it gave us a lot of opportunities to work on our car," said Zipadelli, referring to the 14-gallon fuel cells NASCAR mandated for this year's races at Charlotte. "We just kept undoing all the things that we had done, but there were some things we couldn't get undone.
"Everybody on this Home Depot team did a good job. The pit stops were pretty good, because on every stop they were putting in spring rubbers and doing other things. Tony did a good job with his attitude all night, and that's key here because it's easy to get frustrated on this hard tire. It doesn't feel good and it's hard to pass cars.
"I wish we could've had an opportunity to get our lap back there, because I think we had a sixth- to 10th-place car. It's only a couple more spots, but you feel a little bit better about yourself when you do."
Stewart's Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) teammates - Denny Hamlin and J.J. Yeley - finished 28th and 29th, respectively. Both drivers were involved in accidents that curtailed their performances.
Hamlin was hit from behind in a nine-car accident on the frontstretch on just the second lap of the 334-lap race. Yeley encountered trouble much later in the race when on lap 242 he made contact with Mark Martin and then Robby Gordon in an attempt to come to pit road.
Hamlin's crew was able to make repairs and finish the race, albeit 69 laps down. Yeley's crew also made repairs following his incident, but after making a handful of laps, retired from the event.
Hamlin continues to lead the trio of JGR drivers in the championship point standings, as he is the lone JGR representative in the Chase for the Championship. Hamlin dropped one spot to sixth in points, 137 markers behind series leader Jeff Burton.
Stewart maintained his 11th-place point standing and holds a healthy 213-point lead over 12th-place Carl Edwards.
Yeley dropped one position to 28th in points and sits 251 points outside the top-25.
Kasey Kahne scored his seventh career Nextel Cup victory and his series-leading sixth win of the season by winning the Bank of America 500. The win gave him a sweep of this year's Nextel Cup races at Charlotte, as Kahne won the Coca-Cola 600 in May.
Jimmie Johnson finished second, while Burton, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and former JGR driver Bobby Labonte secured the rest of the top-five. Kyle Busch, Tony Raines, Edwards, Joe Nemechek and Brian Vickers comprised the rest of the top-10.
With only five races remaining, the next event on the Nextel Cup schedule is the Oct. 22 Subway 500 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. The race begins at 12:55 p.m. EDT with live, high-definition coverage provided by NBC.
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NASCAR star Tony Stewart won't win the Nextel Cup title this season, but that doesn't mean he won't rack up another championship.
Stewart, who failed to make the 10-man Chase for the championship, has won two of three 2006 races in the Crown Royal International Race of Champions Series and can wrap up his first IROC title with a strong showing in Saturday's finale at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Stewart, a NASCAR champion in 2002 and 2005, has won 10 titles in the past 26 years, dating to a karting championship in 1980. His titles include karting championships in 1983 and 1987, the 1994 U.S. Auto Club midget championship, the USAC Triple Crown -- midgets, sprint cars and silver crown cars -- in 1995 and a 1997 IRL title.
"Any time you can win a championship it's big," Stewart said. "But the IROC championship ... to compete against so many different drivers from so many different disciplines and to beat them in a series where the cars are so evenly matched, that's big."
He enters the race leading fellow Cup driver Matt Kenseth 62-48 in the points. NASCAR's Ryan Newman and Grand American sports car racer Max Papis are tied for third with 39 points.
The winner will receive $1 million.
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In my 'travels' around the racing sites today, I happened upon this site, which made me ROFLMAO! The future stars of racing, it is Tony dressed as 5 different racers and they have stats and everything. One is even Tonya! Pretty entertaining and I think it shows a lot of Tony's sense of humor to have the pictures taken. You Stewart Sweeties of mine, ENJOY!
A Good Run Spoiled
Chase This!
Stewart and Co. Earn Top-15 Result at Charlotte
Stewart goes after 11th championship
funny Tony
The future stars of racing, it is Tony dressed as 5 different racers and they have stats and everything. One is even Tonya! 
Pretty entertaining and I think it shows a lot of Tony's sense of humor to have the pictures taken. You Stewart Sweeties of mine, ENJOY!
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